Clinical evaluation for the therapeutic effect of intravenous metoprolol in patients with rapid atrial fibrillation

Objective:To evaluate the therapeutic effect on atrial fibrillation of intravenous metoprolol and its safety.Methods:Patients with atrial fibrillation(n=68) were randomly divided into 2 groups.They were treated with intravenous injection of either metoprolol(5~15mg,n=34) or cedilanid(0.4~0.8mg,n=34,as the control).The heart rate and blood pressure were respectively observed before the injection,and 20min,40min,60min and 120min after the injection.Results:The occurrence that heart rate decreased to less than 100bpm within 120min in metoprolol group(55.88%,19/34) did not significantly differ from that in cedilanid group(38.23%,13/34,P0.05).The average time to decreased heart rate to less than 100bpm in metoprolol group [(18.33±12.31) min] was significantly shorter than that in cedilanid group [(65.00±35.05) min,P0.01].The average effective time in metoprolol group [(14.00±9.95) min] was significantly shorter than that in cedilanid group [(62.50±41.66) min,P0.01)].The total effective rate in metoprolol group(85.29%) was higher than that in cedilanid group(58.82%,P0.01).Conclusion:Intravenous metoprolol is effective and safe in the treatment of rapid atrial fibrillation;therefore it provides another credible way for treating rapid atrial fibrillation in emergency department.